Awesome

Cal Ripken's new field for kids is awesome, and it is made even better by the fact that while those kids are playing, the residents of Stadium Place, the affordable retirement community which now encircles the infield, and many of whose residents watched games at Memorial Stadium, will be able to enjoy watching children play from their front porch. Now that's a win/win! Jane Page

When you think of rock music you probably don't think about "Super Mario Bros. " or "Space Invaders. " But a subculture of video game rock bands? Yes, it's a thing. And now that you know the bands exist, you're likely all too eager to start your own video game rock band. For your sake, we got to chat with John DeCampos a member of [Explosion Sound] (yes it's in brackets), a Baltimore-based video game rock band performing at this year's Bit Gen Gamer Fest, which holds its ninth gathering Saturday at Rams Head Live (for more information, go to bitgen.magfest.org .)

In 1989, when The Awesome 80s Prom takes place, I was past my prom-going days. As to the much-younger man who accompanied me to this interactive show at the Hippodrome's M&T Bank Pavilion, he wasn't even born in 1989. For him, the Prom may have seemed grown-up; for me, it was rather juvenile. But though we left with our ears ringing, we both had fun at this contrived, hokey, VERY LOUD, simulated prom. Created and directed by Ken Davenport, The Awesome 80s Prom is currently running in New York and Minneapolis and will open in Chicago next month.

It has been a hectic 48 hours for former Ravens defensive tackle Arthur Jones, whose hard work during his four years in Baltimore was rewarded with a five-year, $33 million contract from the Indianapolis Colts shortly after free agency began Tuesday afternoon. After the deal was finalized, the Colts flew Jones on their private jet to Indianapolis and he wined and dined with Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, the former Ravens defensive coordinator, on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, he was in the Colts facility taking physicals and meeting with his new coaches.

I HAVE HEARD sportscasters, usually the color guys on television and radio broadcasts, describe Michael McCrary, the All-Pro defensive end of the Baltimore Ravens, as "awesome," and that's usually in reference to his ability to race around blockers and tackle quarterbacks, or to sprint 20 yards to take down an opposing receiver who had the temerity to catch a short pass. He's one of the "awesome" players of the Ravens' "awesome" defense. Last year, the Ravens signed McCrary to a contract extension that made him one of the richest defensive players in the National Football League.

He was, as his older brothers used to say, a totally radical, awesome little dude.He was born with holes in his heart and a malformed brain. For much of his life, little Adam Hubbard lived tethered to a maze of medical equipment -- the oxygen tanks, the feeding tubes, the heart monitor in his Fallston home.Nobody really gave Adam much of a chance, not even his mother, who measured his progress in light-years while others saw only glimmers of hope.For Carmen Hubbard, each day was a gift."I can't worry about whether he's going to die tomorrow, whether he's going to stop breathing or his heart will stop.

Nimble is, his trainer says, a little crazy, an awesome animal, a monster. Take your pick.Yesterday, Nimble displayed his finest qualities and tied the Laurel Park seven-furlong record of 1 minute, 21 2/5 seconds set by Tappiano in 1989. Stabled at Philadelphia Park, Nimble devoured three foes in the $50,000 E. William Furey Memorial Stakes, a race honoring the late chairman of the Maryland Racing Commission.Nimble won his fifth race in a row for the trainer Scott A. Lake, who tried to talk his clients, the brothers Eric and Gregg Frahl, out of claiming the 7-year-old gelding for $32,000 in February.

While Chesapeake's Brian Eveleth just did what comes naturally for awrestler with his reputation, Glen Burnie's Ron Mear was the surprise of the tournament.In late May, the two locals captured individual titles in the Freestyle National Qualifying Tournament at Baltimore's Friends School and earned the right to compete in the United States Freestyle Wrestling Federation national tournament.Slated for July 29 through Aug. 4 at the University of Missouri, the tournament is the largest of its kind for high school wrestlers.

In the Cleveland Indians' youth-heavy lineup, two names stand out as players who have seen just about everything in major league baseball: Omar Vizquel and Ellis Burks. Until the bizarre "snow ball" yesterday at Camden Yards. "I've played in snow before, but maybe not that bad," said Burks, whose bloop fly to right field in the third inning scored Vizquel to highlight a three-run rally and give the Indians a lead they didn't relinquish until the eighth. "You couldn't see it at the plate and I told that to the umpire.

GAITHERSBURG -- She is no longer the shy little girl from Montgomery County who seemed younger than her age, no longer the latest in a recent line of America's pixie gymnasts.She is no longer the 15-year-old who made her first Olympic team or the 17-year-old who won her first U.S. championship.Dominique Dawes is all grown up, with one place left to go before she calls it a career: Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic Games.Recovered from the injuries that sapped her confidence and sidelined her for last year's world championships, rejuvenated by the months she spent going to classes and living in a dorm at the University of Maryland, and very much relieved to be finished with a nerve-racking but successful performance in the recent Olympic trials, Dawes has reinvented herself.

If you stepped into something unexpected today, here's hoping it was related to St. Nicholas Day and not a irresponsible pet owner. Millions of children (and some freaky adults) are finding candy and other assorted junk stuffed into their shoes this morning in one of the more unsanitary Christmas traditions. And in keeping with the concept of finding free crap in your shoe, it seems like everyone's having an awesome day on the Internet! Christmas may come early for Apple CEO Tim Cooke who could find out today whether a mess of Samsung phones are permanently placed on the naughty list, out of reach of U.S. consumers.

The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. on Mondays. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). We do not accept results by phone. When two Howard County teams play, players from both teams (first and last names) must be mentioned in the write-up. Questions? Call 410-332-6606. Tennis Awesome Aces The Howard County Awesome Aces junior tennis team competed in the Maryland State Championships held at the Tennis Center at College Park recently. The Quick Start Tennis 8-U Purple team and the 12-U Beginner/Ravens won first place in the state.

The Della Rose's Tavern at Canton Crossing has closed. Its last night was last Friday. The closing announcement was made on the tavern's Facebook page. Written by Tony DellaRose, it's one of the best closing notices I've seen, absent of self-pity, just honest. And funny. DellaRose told me that he wrote the notice the same night he broke the news to his staff. "It was from the heart," he said. The Della Rose's on The Avenue in White Marsh remains open. "I'm looking at things from this day forward, DellaRose said.

Rapid Redux started 2012 the way he finished last year — winning. The victory in the sixth race at Laurel Park Wednesday was the 22nd straight for the horse, who held off Awesome Rhythm. Rapid Redux paid $2.80 as the 2-5 betting favorite. Earlier in the day it was announced that Rapid Redux had earned a Special Eclipse Award and his owner, Robert Cole, will receive it later this month in Beverly Hills, Calif. "Being a local it is fun winning in front of the home crowd," said Cole, a 1981 graduate of Loch Raven High School.

In the latest adventures of "Phil's Amazing Race," we learn historical facts about Indonesia, helpful things to say when you faceplant in a rice paddy and the fact that you can't call yourself prepared if you don't have a spare bicycle pedal in your backpack. Indonesia is made up of approximately 17,000 islands. I'm not joking for exaggeration, either. I can't joke about it; my mind is too boggled. Here's another fact about Indonesia: it was colonized by the Dutch 300 years ago. I don't think there are enough Dutch people to colonize 17,000 islands, so I'll assume that they colonized maybe five islands and called it good.

The next installment of Steelers week is two months away, but Terrell Suggs took time this week to tell Sports Illustrated's Peter King how “awesome” it was when the Ravens broke Ben Roethlisberger's nose last season. Appearing on King's new weekly podcast -- Suggs was his special guest in the third episode -- the Ravens linebacker was asked to tell a story that illustrates the intensity of the Baltimore-Pittsburgh rivalry. Suggs chose the Steelers' Week 13 win from a year ago because he and Roethlisberger were both bloodied.

Calling life in prison worse than death, jurors in Baltimore's first capital case in six years spared the life of convicted murderer Jovan House, who ambushed and killed city police detective Thomas Gary Newman. "They figured that death would be easier for him than life in prison," said juror Anita Beauford, who said she was one of the few jurors who initially wanted the death penalty. "They believed he would suffer more from life in prison." House, who was convicted last week of first-degree murder in the retaliatory killing of Newman, apologized to the court in a barely audible voice.

Karen Colvin's disability enabled her to tap her greatest 0) talentBy age 14, Karen Colvin knew she wanted to help the handicapped. She didn't know, however, she would wind up a member of the group she was helping."

Time out! Drop everything and play this right now. Comedy team The Fine Brothers. just sent along a link to their latest video project. And it's all sorts of awesome. Benny and Rafi Fine, who wrote and directed the game, say they spent six months working on this choose-your-own adventure game where you play as Zack Morris and figure out the best way to help his Bayside friends. Three games here! Zack helps out with Jessie's infamous caffeine-pill addiction, tries to prevent Kelly from leaving him for Jeff and - my favorite - helps Screech get a replacement for his mom's Elvis statue he broke.

Rec sports The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. on Mondays. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). We do not accept results by phone. When two Howard County teams play, players from both teams (first and last names) must be mentioned in the write-up. Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Tennis Awesome Aces The Howard County Awesome Aces junior team tennis competed in Maryland State JTT Championships held at McDonogh School July 16. The Quick Start Tennis 8-U Intermediate and 10-U Intermediate teams came in second in the state.